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By Hellen J. Kuleskey
We have all known fear in our lives. Before we invited Jesus Christ into our lives, we feared everything that could harm us in this life and in the afterlife. Most of all we feared evil and the deathblow it could give us, ending our life here on earth and sending us into the unknown.
When we invited Jesus Christ into our lives, we learned from the Word of God, the Bible, that we are to fear God and NOT fear anything else.
What does it mean to fear God, and what is He dealing with when He commands us to “Fear Not” ?
One dictionary defines the fear toward God as “extreme reverance or awe, as toward a supreme being.” Another dictionary gives this definition: to feel reverance for; to have a reverential awe of; to venerate (respect).
Since Jesus Christ now indwells us by His Holy Spirit, our spirits are reborn and we have become children of God. “To all who received him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn. 1:12). God is now our Heavenly Father! We respect Him with all our hearts, and we no longer fear Him as the Judge who can send us into eternal damnation. “For you did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received a spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’ ” (Rom. 8:15 NIV).
“When the fulness of time had come, God sent forth His Son...to redeem those that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.... Therefore you are no longer a servant but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Gal. 4:4,5,7 NKJ). The Father has not only adopted us to be His sons, He has made us joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. When we realize who we are in Christ and our relationship with the Father through Him, we will also realize that God loves us as He loves Jesus, His only begotten Son. In one of His final teachings, Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (Jn. 14:23 NKJ).
Our loving Heavenly Father now invites us, His children, to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16 NJK).
The Bible also speaks a lot about another meaning of fear, the negative emotion of dread and terror that comes against us. Both in the Old and New Testaments we are exhorted to “Fear not.” When Christ came walking on the water to the disciples, they were terrified. Jesus said to them, “Take courage. It is I. Be not afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” When the Lord told him to come, Peter got out and walked on the water. But when he saw the wind and the waves he was afraid and began to sink. He cried out to the Lord to save him. Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him and said, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?”
That is exactly what fear is. It is unbelief and doubt. It is a destructive force and it brings torment. (See 1 Jn. 4:18.) We are to resist fear as sin and not give Satan (who gives us fear) any place in our lives. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).
Why should we trust and not give way to fear? Because the Almighty God is in us and He is for us; He defends us. He says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10 NIV).
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